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But Mr Windsor, whose deal to support the minority Labor government included a promise on a local government referendum, will call for a second question, on marriage equality, to be included.

As New Zealand and France finalise same-sex marriage laws, Mr Windsor said the message he got from Australians was to ''let us have our say and get it away from you idiots [politicians]''.

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''Polls on gay marriage say it's what the population wants. A way to resolve it is through a referendum,'' he said. ''It's a bit like the gun debate in America - the politicians appear to be out of step with the people.''

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He said it was up to the public to force the issue. ''You get a million people on Facebook and Twitter saying they want a referendum and it will catch fire. The politicians would have to listen,'' he said.

However, Australian Marriage Equality national convener Rodney Croome said that a referendum was unnecessary and called on politicians to show strong leadership on the issue.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott said he did not support the idea of holding a referendum on same sex marriage in September.

''As far as is humanly possible I think the coming election should be uncomplicated by other matters,'' Mr Abbott said on Monday.

''The election in september should be a referendum on the carbon tax, it should be a referendum on the current government: 'Do you really want three more years of this?'

''If there is ever to be a plebiscite on this subject it should be held quite separate from a federal election.''

Mr Windsor, who voted against the most recent same-sex marriage bill, said that a civil union ceremony he attended last year had been "possibly the most sincere and meaningful occasion" he had witnessed and, as a result, his opposition had softened.

"If it came down to my vote [in Parliament] I'd have to have a really hard think about it. But that ceremony had an impact on me. I'd probably vote for it," he said.

Independent MP Rob Oakeshott said he favoured a plebiscite question attached to the local government referendum, to allow politicians to ''read the tea leaves''.

''It would lower the temperature of the political debate and would provide some back-up support to any politician who takes this thing on in future. You would get a clear message one way or the other,'' he said.

Greens leader Christine Milne said she was ''certainly in favour'' of a plebiscite question.

''I've been saying for some time that both Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott are on the wrong side of history with this,'' she said.

But on Monday morning, Senator Milne backtracked on her earlier comment, saying a referendum was a ''deliberate distraction'' to avoid dealing with the issue and has called on the Coalition to provide a conscience vote.

''If the conversation goes onto the plebiscite and the referendum it lets everyone off the hook until after the election. I want marriage equality now- it is a matter of discrimination we are dealing with,'' she told reporters in Melbourne.

She said the Greens had legislation before parliament to enable same-sex marriage and the only hurdle was Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's refusal to provide a conscience vote.

''Tony Abbott should give a conscience vote to his members in both houses of parliament and we can legislate this before the election.''

Professor George Williams, a constitutional lawyer, said that in his view a referendum would be better than a plebiscite because any law change that stemmed from a plebiscite - which he described as a ''giant opinion poll'' - could still be open to a High Court challenge.

A referendum - which needs the support of a majority of people in a majority of states - could allow a line to be inserted in the constitution clarifying that a marriage can involve partners of the same sex.

Mr Windsor said Australia's leaders were ''bogged down in their parties'' on the issue.

Ms Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott are both tied to positions against same-sex marriage.

Ms Gillard is facing internal pressures to bring on a vote in Parliament. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus on Sunday said the most appropriate way to consider such an amendment was through a conscience vote in Parliament.

''Any change to allow same-sex marriage would occur by amending the Marriage Act, not the Constitution.''

Rainbow Labor, the party's gay group, has announced its intention to make same-sex marriage an election issue.

Mr Abbott, whose sister Christine Forster is a lesbian, has sought to shelve the matter as an election issue, promising to allow the Liberal party room to decide whether it wants a conscience vote after September.

Political experts say Mr Abbott will be desperate not to ''muddy the waters'' of an election he wants to fight purely on Labor's alleged failures.

In return for their support for the minority Labor government, the Greens and Mr Windsor won a promise for a referendum on local government. Local Government Minister Anthony Albanese has been trying to lock in the support of the states since taking over the portfolio from Simon Crean.

Recognition of local government has become a more pressing concern since a successful High Court challenge to the Commonwealth's school chaplaincy program raised fears that schemes such as the $3.5 billion Roads to Recovery program could be challenged.